


It couldn't hurt to try

by JesusChristsuzIe



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Canon Compliant, Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Hugs, Minor Mai/Zuko, Other, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Platonic Relationships, Post-Canon, Protectiveness, Soft Zuko (Avatar)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:27:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26595226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JesusChristsuzIe/pseuds/JesusChristsuzIe
Summary: Zuko had never been close to Ty Lee, he had never wanted to get to know her, and she had never wanted to get to know him, but when she comes to him wide-eyed and teary, he figures it wouldn't hurt to try
Relationships: Ty Lee & Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 90





	It couldn't hurt to try

"Zuko, I need- I need help."

Zuko looked up, surprised to find Ty Lee staring back at him, her slim body just poking through the ajar door, leaning against the door frame. Her eyes were wider than usual, glazed over and shiny. Zuko was sure if he could see her aura, it would be a dark, stormy blue.

Zuko was never very close with Ty Lee, she was always just Azula's friend. She was always just there, in the background, laughing when he made a fool of himself, an ear to whisper into whenever he walked by. He wasn't interested in getting to know her, and she wasn't interested in getting to him. 

They had been forced to spend a lot more time around each other after the fall of Ba Sing Se, and Zuko had had to admit that there was more to Ty Lee than just pink and auras.

It didn't mean he had liked her though. She was always there, but he had never wanted her to be. He wanted to be with Mai, occasionally even Azula, or no one at all. He wanted to celebrate being home, being with his girlfriend, his people, his _family_. Not on a beach watching random strangers fawn over Ty Lee. 

He knew she had never wanted him there either, he didn't miss the way she looked at him when he sat down next to Azula, or when he curled his arms around Mai. 

No, neither of them had wanted to be around each other, but they had tolerated it, if only for the fact that they had no other choice.

So when Ty Lee turned up at his door, wide-eyed and teary, looking like she was either about to start crying or vomit, or maybe even a hellish combination of both, he knew it was bad. He was quite possibly her last choice of people to go to, before maybe Katara, and he couldn't think of anything that would make her desperate enough to turn to him.

That didn't mean he was going to turn her away though. 

"Can I come in?"

He nodded quickly, he could feel his top knot shaking a little, loose on the top of his head, and rushed over to the door, pulling it open fully so she could slip inside, and closing it behind her. 

Ty Lee stood awkwardly in the centre of the room, not sure where to sit or stand in such an intimate space. Zuko gestured to his bed, and chose to sit on the heavy leather armchair in the corner of the room, that had never really served any purpose other than looking expensive.

It took her a moment to sit, a look of doubt crossing over her features, and an even longer moment for her to stop wriggling and shifted around on his covers, before she finally stopped in the absolute centre of the bed, her legs crossed beneath her.

She picked absent-mindedly at a loose thread of her trousers, the pink material muddied and frayed after many months of battles. She looked between him and her legs a few times, ultimately deciding that this conversation would be easier to have if it was directed at her thigh.

"I need your help." When she spoke, her voice was filled with uncertainty, a tone he hadn't heard from her since they were kids, that she'd learnt to force out of her voice and squash down, along with everything else Azula didn't like. While it wasn't nice to listen to, Zuko had to admit he preferred this, the real emotion behind her words, the _real_ Ty Lee, to the faux cheeriness she had always forced into her voice.

He just sat and waited for her to go on, he knew from experience that being rushed when you were upset got you nowhere, except more upset, and he really didn't know how to handle a crying Ty Lee. She swallowed, breathed in deeply and looked back up at Zuko, "I don't- I just don't know what to do. This is gonna sound so _stupid_ , and I _know_ I'm making a big deal over nothing, I mean look at me, I'm literally in the Fire Lord's palace right now, people would kill to be where I am. They probably have. But I just feel so _lost_ , like everyone knows where they're going and I just- don't."

She had spoken so quickly Zuko almost couldn't make out what was being said, like she had held it in for so long that she couldn't bare to keep it bottled up anymore, a stark contrast to the deliberately slow way she had spoken when she first entered the room.

"Why don't you talk to Mai about this?"

Zuko felt rude asking the question, like he was turning Ty Lee away, like she was a problem he'd been forced to deal with, and would do anything to get rid of. The way Ty Lee looked at him after he asked didn't do anything to ease his guilt.

"Are you kidding? I love Mai, but she doesn't understand, she barely has a handle on her own feelings, how can I expect her to deal with mine? She'd probably tell me to just go back home, or something."

"Well, why don't you?"

Ty Lee peered up at him, not quite glaring, but there was no warmth in her gaze, she looked at him like he was stupid, which he was increasingly beginning to feel.

"I _can't_. I can't go back there! Where everyone looks the same and talks the same and doesn't speak unless spoken to and has to be seen and not heard. I have six sisters Zuko, they all walk around joined at the hip, wearing the same clothes, talking about the same nonsense things. I can't go back to that, not after everything I've seen, everything I've done, do you know how hard it is to be exactly the same as someone and still feel so alienated? It was why I ran away in the first place."

She wrapped her arms around herself at the last sentence, like they were the only things holding her together, and turned her heated gaze away from Zuko and back towards her legs. Zuko really didn't know what to say, the only things he knew about Ty Lee before this was she ran away to the circus and was scarily flexible. He wasn't sure he was capable of giving her life advice, nor did he even want to, he just stared at the dejected girl on his bed for an embarrassingly long amount of time.

"Well, what about the circus then? You always said it was your calling."

"No I can't- I can't go back there either," her cheeks flushed a little as she spoke, and she had begun rubbing her arms like she was cold, "when Azula asked me to- to join her, I was under contract. It was a job, I couldn't just leave, but I couldn't turn Azula down either, I didn't have a _choice_. So I kind of trashed my boss's trailer. I was so rude he ended up banishing me from their circus for the rest of my life, I can't even go and watch shows anymore."

Zuko knew the weight behind her words, nobody could turn down Azula, not if they wanted to live and tell the tale. She was the Fire Princess, and the Fire Princess _always_ got her way. He couldn't help the twinge of pity that turned in his stomach as he looked down at Ty Lee, her arms still wrapped tightly around her, her shoulders slumped and eyes quickly reddening with the threat of tears.

"I'm sorry Zuko," her voice was thick as she spoke, and every word sounded like a sob, though no tears had fallen yet, "you shouldn't have to deal with this, I just don't know who else to turn to, I don't know anyone other than you or Mai or Azula, and I don't know what I'm doing with myself. Mai already offered to let me stay here, but I can't, it's just too similar, it's too the same. Everywhere I look, I see _her_ , I can't force myself through that."

Zuko wasn't shocked at her words, everywhere he looked, he saw _him_ , but he had forced that fear down, the feeling of always looking over his shoulder, and forced himself to look for the things that reminded him of his mother, his uncle and Lu Ten. He knew what it felt like to be surrounded by your trauma, and he didn't want to put Ty Lee though that, no matter what he thought of her. 

He wondered if that was what he was putting Mai through.

"It's just, I thought I had found my place, away from home, away from Azula and high society, but she found me and she tore it away and now I can never go back, and I have nowhere else to go," tears were rolling freely down her cheeks now, her round eyes swelling so they were big and red and puffy, and her cheeks became blotchy and flushed. Zuko felt awkward, sitting here watching her cry quietly, trying to stem the flow of her tears, small and alone, hunched over on his bed. 

He stood up from where he was sat, the leather of his chair creaking as he moved, and crossed the short distance to his bed, crawling over and pulling Ty Lee into a fierce embrace. Neither of them really expected it, they weren't close and definitely didn't have a touchy-feely relationship, they had never even spoken properly before today, and it was slightly awkward, Ty Lee leaning over her crossed legs, Zuko crouched on his, but it felt right. Ty Lee unwrapped her arms from around herself, and curled them around Zuko's waist, burying her face into his shoulder. He could feel her tears and snot soaking through his robes, but he couldn't bring himself to care, rubbing large circles on her back, the fabric of her top soft against his palm, her long braid knocking against his fingertips every so often.

They stayed curled around each other for a while, long after Ty Lee's muffled sniffles had died down, and the wet stain on his shoulder had dried. Eventually she pulled away, her hands still rested loosely on her waist, her eyes were stilled puffed and bloodshot, and her nose was smeared with snot.

"Thank you Zuko, this was- I needed this."

"Do you know what you're gonna do now?"

Ty Lee shook her head, pulling her hands away and folding them in her lap, "No, I don't think I do, but it really helped being able to talk to someone about it, plus you give like the best hugs."

She gave a watery giggle, shifting so she was sat beside Zuko and leant her head down on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, his long sleeve draped around her arm like a blanket.

"Hey, why don't you talk to Suki. She's one of my friends, and the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors. I know you don't- I know you're worried about being part of a set, and they kind of look really similar, but, like, seriously talk to Suki. She cares so much about her warriors, and, I mean if you don't want to, you really don't have to, but they're all really close, and you can go out and fight, but like in a good way that doesn't terrorise innocent people."

Ty Lee giggled beside him, turning her face up to look at Zuko properly, "Do you really think it would be a good idea. I mean, we did kind of throw them in prison and steal their identities in Ba Sing Se."

Zuko chuckled awkwardly, nodding his head, "I mean, sure, it wasn't the best first impression, but they're really nice girls, I'm sure if you talk to them, like really talk to them, they wouldn't turn you away."

Ty Lee hummed beside him, her mouth turned down in thought, "I guess it couldn't hurt, I'm pretty sure I shared a cell with a few of them. It would be nice to have real friends my age, that aren't just using me to terrorise innocent people."

They both laughed quietly, Ty Lee pulled away, completely this time, and placed a heavy hand on Zuko's shoulder, "Thank you Zuko, really, you didn't have to deal with this, you could've just sent me away, but you didn't, and- this was nice. Thank you."

Zuko nodded and let himself be pulled into another hug.

"I'm just glad I could help."

Zuko rested his chin on her shoulder. It was nice, Ty Lee was small and warm and she kept giving his his shoulders little squeezes and rubbing circles into his back. Zuko had never been very close with Ty Lee, he was never interested in getting to know her, and she was never interested in getting to know him, but, as they sat in the quiet darkness of his room, curled around each other, he figured it wouldn't hurt to try.

**Author's Note:**

> Because we were robbed of good ty lee and Zuko friendship


End file.
